The JewishMOM’s Passover Sacrifice
For the enslaved Israelites, Rebbetzin Esther Baila Schwartz explains, it was as terrifying to slaughter a lamb on the night of the Exodus as it would be for you today to walk through Gaza City with a Koran aflame.
The Israelites were killing sheep, the Egyptian god, which meant that each and every one of them would have been killed on the spot if discovered.
Preparing for Passover, therefore, is about pushing ourselves way past our comfort zones. And part of that pre-Pesach stretch beyond our comfort zones, of course, is the many extra hours we Jewish moms spend getting our homes and families ready for the fast approaching Big Event.
But an even bigger ingredient in our comfort zone stretch, Rebbetzin Schwartz states, is for us moms to swallow the bitter pill that our homes will NOT be perfect by Seder night. For most mothers of young children, on Seder night there will still be cobwebs in the corners of the playroom and Crayola masterpieces on the walls and more kitchen cabinets sold than scrubbed.
Therefore, a mother’s Passover sacrifice, Rebbetzin Schwartz continues, is sacrificing perfection in order that you can smile rather than snarl at your family during these final days leading up to Passover.
Wow. What an amazing idea.
Image courtesy of Flickr.com user Jafi Israel
Thank you for sharing such a simple, yet profound thought. A direct hit straight to my heart…
BS”D
Toda Raba Chana…. bishbili…. col milim bishbili 🙂
Berajot miBuenos Aires!!
I appreciate it’s nice to have your house straight before yomtov, but as everyone keeps on saying – dirt isn’t chametz! Cobwebs are not chametz, unless your kids have thrown pretzels at them and they have stuck…. Kitchen cupboards which you are not using do not need to be cleaned! We do not take chametz upstairs in our house (except for the baby, and we usually make sure to find the bits he hasn’t eaten). The house is regularly hoovered, so “Pesach cleaning” the upstairs involved checking in places where the baby might have stashed something, and that was it – 1/2 hour. If I want to sort out my cupboards, I will do it another time and not blame it on Pesach.
I LOVE THIS!
I don’t go crazy with Pesach cleaning, and I stay away from spring cleaning, but I always feel bad about that. Thank you for reassuring us that it’s OK!!!
Love that thought will keep it in mind as I clean this year for Pesach.
Bless you, Jenny!!! Thank you for this post.